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TazTag’s stand-alone NFC device to hit the market by the end of 2010

Sarah Clark — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 10:20:39 +0000

TazCard, a stand-alone NFC device which communicates via USB and Zigbee instead of a mobile network connection, is set to launch by the end of 2010 with a target price of €150 — and a very different approach to building NFC ecosystems.

TAZCARD: 'Think iPod Touch, not iPhone', says TazTag's Eric Fouchard (click to enlarge)

TazTag's stand-alone NFC device, the TazCard, is set for commercial launch before the end of this year, CEO Eric Fouchard has told NFC World, with a target price of €150 once the device has entered mass production.

Similar in area to a standard credit card, the TazCard is a Java-based handheld device able to support a wide range of NFC applications including payments, ID, ticketing, loyalty and other services. TazCards feature a 3.5-inch (9cm) touch screen and a biometric fingerprint sensor plus near field communication, USB and ZigBee communications interfaces.

TazCards do not, however, include a mobile network interface — although it will be possible to add mobile functionality as an optional extra. Instead, the device uses USB to connect to the internet from a PC, NFC for contactless proximity applications and ZigBee, rather than the mobile internet, to access and download information services and applications in the field.

Zigbee is a wireless technology, developed originally to meet the needs of low-cost, low-power wireless machine-to-machine (M2M) networks. Zigbee devices can communicate with each other over a range of up to 30m and can be connected together using mesh networking technology so that multiple Zigbee 'nodes', each costing in the region of US$10, can transfer information from one to another over longer distances.

In practical terms, this means that the TazTag operates in a similar way to an iPod Touch, which has Wifi and USB interfaces but no mobile connection, rather than an iPhone. It means also that there is no role for a mobile network operator in a TazCard ecosystem — and also that, like the iPod Touch, the TazCard is designed to be a product that consumers purchase as an extra rather than a replacement for an existing device, and for which there's no need to take out a data plan.

"The TazCard is not a competitor of phones, it's a companion," says Fouchard. "Some people would prefer to have only one device... fine. But our customers are all agreed on one point: A highly secure device, without a third party as an operator, gives them what they need to provide new services today."

How would an NFC ecosystem that does not include a mobile network operator work in practice? A mobile connection is not needed to use an NFC device to make a card transaction, whether that is for a payments, transport ticketing or an access control application, but most tag reading applications do use the mobile networks. Here, when the user reads a tag, typically a hyperlink stored on the tag is transferred to their mobile phone, enabling the user to easily access a website to view information or download a coupon or voucher. And, when a customer signs up for a new NFC service, the mobile connection can also be used to download the application over-the-air to their handset.

In both of these applications, the same functionality could be provided by Zigbee, Fouchard explains. For instance, a shop assistant could use a TazCard to read NFC tags on products, then check stock availability, reserve the item for the customer and read his retail loyalty card — all using a store's Zigbee network rather a mobile network.

Why not use WiFi or Bluetooth? "WiFi and Bluetooth are very sensitive to security issues," says Fouchard, "but the major problem is the power consumption of these technologies — too high!" And, for Bluetooth, "it's not a network technology, just a point to point, so you can't have the same uses" while "WiFi is already used for computer networks so it is too difficult to manage the network too."

"The TazCard is a part of a complete ecosystem dedicated to contactless applications," says Fouchard, "we have many products for infrastructure ready to go. Our strategy is to offer a highly secure NFC/Zigbee device, a developer community and products for infrastructure."

A Java-based software development kit is available now from TazTag and the first TazCards will be available in test quantities from June 2010. The first commercially available devices are due before the end of the year and, Fouchard told NFC World, mass production is expected to begin in 2011.

TazTag has also partnered with Sagem Orga and with Inside Contactless on the development of TazCard technology and a prototype device featuring an Inside Contactless Microread NFC controller and a single wire protocol-enabled SIM card, developed by Sagem Orga and running Inside's Java-based test payment application, has now also been developed.

"We believe this device will enable card issuers to provide their customers with a viable NFC bridge — a key success factor towards market adoption of mobile NFC payments," says Jean-Christophe Tisseuil of Sagem Orga, which is working on a number of innovative solutions for bridging the NFC handset gap. Last year, the company signed a deal with Twinlinx, developer of the MyMax Bluetooth-enabled NFC sticker, under which Sagem Orga will offer MyMax to its customers under its own SIMply Mobile Wallet brand name. And, at the Mobile World Congress in February, the company announced the development of an NFC-enabled key fob containing a WiFi-enabled SIM that could be used to deliver NFC functionality to 100% of today's mobile phones.

"Maybe the market will be first for VIP customers of transportation companies and banks, but I believe that many people will be ready to pay a little to secure their credit cards," Fouchard concludes.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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NFC takes two steps forward — and one step back

Sarah Clark — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:57:01 +0000

OPINION: A host of new NFC products and initiatives were announced at this year's Mobile World Congress but, it seems, we will have to wait until the end of this year before the first NFC handsets become widely available in the West.

While the Mobile World Congress saw the announcement of a new Sagem Wireless NFC phone and the arrival of Samsung's new NFC device, it also witnessed the official cancellation of Nokia's eagerly awaited Single Wire Protocol compliant NFC phone, the 6216 Classic.

Sagem Orga and Telenor, meanwhile, unveiled a new technology that can add NFC functionality to 100% of existing phones and Visa announced it is to run a number of field trials of DeviceFidelity's microSD solution.

But it was China that continued to take centre stage last week, as China Unicom and the Chinese banks announced plans to go head to head with China Mobile's RF SIM service. The world's first Single Wire Protocol-based NFC service is now set to go live in the second quarter of this year, says China Unicom...

Sarah Clark, Editor

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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Sagem Orga and Telenor use WiFi to add NFC to 100% of mobile phones

Sarah Clark — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:41:59 +0000

The Norwegian telecoms firm and the SIM and smart card specialist are using an NFC-enabled key fob in combination with a new wireless-enabled SIM to deliver NFC functionality to 100% of today's mobile phones.

CONNECTION: The companies have come up with an NFC keyfob that connects to a phone's SIM via Wifi integrated into both devices

Norwegian telecoms operator Telenor and SIM and smart card supplier Sagem Orga have announced the development of a new method of delivering NFC functionality to existing mobile phones.

The new solution uses an NFC-enabled key fob in combination with a wireless-enabled SIM card and, say the two companies, it will work with 100% of today's mobile phones.

Sagem Orga, Telenor and STMicroelectronics are demonstrating the new solution in live payments/ticketing demos at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week.

"Use cases for NFC are numerous, but until today there has been a gap: The infrastructure is there, but no NFC-enabled phones," says Sagem Orga. "The industry has been looking for ways of bridging this gap. Previous bridge solutions have drawbacks such as missing network connections or user interactivity, and none of the existing solutions leverages the SIM card in the mobile phone with all its capabilities. The new solution by Sagem Orga and partners overcomes these disadvantages. Mobile network operators will be able to fully manage and control NFC applications thanks to the SIM card."

For the demo solution, a key fob has been equipped with a Sagem Orga NFC-enabled SIM card connected by Single Wire Protocol to a ST21NFCA chip from ST Microelectronics to enable the contactless functionality.

The NFC key fob connects to the SIM in the mobile phone via a new SIM technology called WLAN SIM that uses WiFi to form the bridge between the NFC device and the SIM card in a mobile phone.

"Any NFC application, such as mobile payment or Calypso for transportation, can be installed on the SIM card of the mobile phone and/or the NFC key fob using any traditional or over-the-air mechanism," says Sagem Orga. "It can be executed in both devices or only in one of them, depending on the required performance, resources and connectivity."

For example, a terminal for contactless banking can trigger the mobile payment application stored in the key fob to start a transaction. Next the key fob starts a remote SIM Toolkit execution on the SIM inserted in the mobile phone to enable interaction with the user, such as asking for a password, displaying a message or logging information to the network.

With the same key fob solution, the user can also start a SIM Toolkit application on the mobile phone to order new transportation e-tickets. In this scenario, the Calypso vending server would then use the normal OTA infrastructure to send the tickets securely to the SIM and on to the key fob.

"The WLAN communication channel between the SIM in the handset and the secure element in the key fob is highly secured and can be protected by a PKI mechanism if needed," Sagem Orga explains.

"We believe that this innovative wireless bridge between NFC and the SIM card can give operators greater flexibility in the launch of NFC services," explains Yogesh Malik, senior vice president at Telenor Group business development and research. "We hope to see this technology refined further through tests and trials so that it can become a user-friendly commercial product for services in ticketing, payment and access control."

"The NFC key fob in combination with the WLAN SIM brings more convenience and security to contactless technology," adds Didier Sérodon, chief technology officer at Sagem Orga. "We are demonstrating the advantages of a constant connection between the SIM in the mobile phone and the secure element in the accessory via a wireless link with examples from the transportation and the mobile payment area, but this can also pave the way for all classic NFC use cases such as access control, loyalty, etc. All of them can be managed by the NFC key fob."

WLAN SIM, developed by Sagem Orga and Telenor, is the world’s first WiFi-enabled SIM and is designed to combine WiFi functionality on a mobile phone with the security of a SIM card.

"The SIM card has always been recognized as the secure element inside a mobile phone," says Sagem Orga. "However, to date, mobile network operators have not been able to leverage its security features to bring trusted services in the field for fixed-mobile convergence and, in particular, to initiate communications with other proximity devices. Only phone to phone communication is possible, but in many ways such as infrared, Bluetooth, etc, the SIM card is not involved at all. User authentication on a PC is already possible via SIM card, but it would be more convenient to have one general and standardized way instead of different ones for each mobile phone model and provider.

"To overcome all these barriers and inconveniences, Sagem Orga is launching the first WLAN SIM. Equipped with a Telenor Wi-Fi module, it will be able to communicate independently with all other devices in the mobile ecosystem to enable strong security services managed by the mobile network operator. The WLAN SIM card can be used in any kind of mobile phone to enable fixed-mobile convergence, proximity transactions, trusted peer-to-peer operations between two SIM cards, strong authentication services, Web security and a large and varied set of use cases."

"This innovative technology has the capability of opening up new business opportunities for operators and can also provide the possibility of deploying a range of new proximity services with a high degree of security and reliability," Malik explains. "Through the cooperation with Sagem Orga we are now exploring different use cases that involve other operators. The purpose of this is to verify the potential of the technology and get valuable market feedback."

"The SIM needs to open itself to the world," concludes Jean-Christophe Tisseuil, head of marketing and business development for the telecommunications product line at Sagem Orga. "It's the only way forward when talking about user authentication."

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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Banka Koper begins NFC payments and promotions trial in Slovenia

Sarah Clark — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:30:22 +0000

Trial participants can use their Sagem Wireless NFC handsets to make payments and to collect information and promotional coupons from smart posters.

VALUE ADDED: The trial also offers a range of interactive mobile services

Slovenia's Banka Koper has begun a trial of NFC payments which is due to continue until June 2010.

Cassis International, Inside Contactless and Sagem Orga have teamed up to supply the NFC system being used by the bank, in cooperation with Mobitel, Slovenia's leading mobile network operator.

Participants will be using NFC handsets supplied by Sagem Wireless for the trial and will be able to make purchases at points of sale equipped to handle MasterCard and Maestro PayPass contactless payments cards.

They can also use their NFC phones to access a series of interactive mobile services — including contextual information, advertisements and coupons — based on smart posters.

Banka Koper's payment service will be provisioned over-the-air onto a single wire protocol SIM card. Both the MasterCard M/Chip application and Mobitel's single wire protocol NFC SIM card have been developed by Sagem Orga. The NFC-compliant Mobitel handset, manufactured by Sagem Wireless, incorporates Inside Contactless' MicroRead NFC solution, which handles communication with NFC terminals, tags and other NFC handsets, and also includes Inside's Wave-Me applet for interaction with smart posters.

Application and SIM card life cycle management is performed over-the-air by Cassis' MobileMatrix trusted service management (TSM) solution. Cassis is also providing the certified payment user-interface and smart poster management based via its PosterMatrix software platform.

"This pilot gathers state-of-the-art technologies from leaders in the industry," says Gojmir Nabergoj, senior advisor at Banka Koper. "We aim to leverage smart card and mobile technologies to enable simpler and more secure payments, and to offer value added products which really makes a difference to customers."

"Mobitel has extensive experience of innovative mobile services, especially in the field of payment," added Marko Jagodič, service unit manager at Mobitel. "Thanks to our industrial partners we were able to create a new experience of mobile payment."

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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Twinlinx NFC sticker set for commercial launch in March 2010

Sarah Clark — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:16:53 +0000

Twinlinx's NFC sticker, which enables full NFC functionality to be added to any Bluetooth mobile phone, is set to go into commercial production in three months time.

My-Max stickers incorporate three separate chips. The first handles the device's contactless interface, the second handles the Bluetooth interface with the mobile phone and the third acts as the secure element. And, because the secure element is separate to the other chips, My-Max issuers are free to choose which chip they want to use for the secure element, from a wide range of standard contactless smart card chips that have already passed Visa/MasterCard certification processes.

My-Max will be available in March 2010 from both Twinlinx and established SIM and smart card supplier Sagem Orga. Last month, Sagem Orga signed a deal with Twinlinx that will see the company adding My-Max stickers to its product range, under the SIMply Mobile Wallet brand name.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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Toro’s user management system in running for a Sesame award

Sarah Clark — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:23:28 +0000

NFC specialist Toro's Akami software suite has been selected as a finalist in the Mobile category of the prestigious Sesames Awards.

The start-up's product, a system for distributing NFC services to end users, will be up against offerings from Gemalto, Oberthur and NXP. The Sesames, now in their fourteenth year, are cards industry awards given for innovation in hardware, software and eight application categories.

"We are proud to have been chosen as a finalist from among the 309 applications competing for the Sesames Innovation Awards," says Laurent Renard, Toro's chief executive.

Akami is aimed at mobile operators and trusted service managers and includes a multi-platform mobile client, a widget system, an SDK and a back-office system with APIs. The system can be used to deliver secure NFC services such as payment, transport, loyalty and ticketing applications, as well as those in non-secure areas such as marketing, CRM, social networking and games.

The Hong-Kong based company describes itself as being at "the crossroads of smartcard, mobile and GUI design" and has offices in Taipei and Paris.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Paris on Monday November 16, ahead of the opening of the Cartes & Identification tradeshow the next day. Other Sesames finalists from the NFC sector include Collis, Twinlinx, Neowave, Sagem Orga, Inside Contactless and Giesecke & Devrient.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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Sagem Orga adds Java Card functionality to MyMax NFC stickers

Sarah Clark — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:42:25 +0000

Sagem Orga and Twinlinx are introducing a mobile contactless sticker based on Twinlinx's MyMax NFC sticker and Sagem Orga's Java Card technology.

Twinlinx's My-Max sticker combines an NFC transmitter with a security chip and Bluetooth functionality. Because it can communicate with both contactless readers via NFC and with the phone via Bluetooth, My-Max has the ability to add full NFC capability to any Bluetooth handset, including over-the-air provisioning and management.

The new SIMply Mobile Wallet sticker developed by Sagem Orga and Twinlinx will be available with a choice of secure contactless cards/chips that can be embedded in the sticker, enabling it to be used in different scenarios.

Initially, Sagem Orga's Java Card JMV Pro CL will be used as the secure element in the sticker, allowing users to directly interact with the Java Card through a mobile application. Features include:

A multi-application environment compliant with GlobalPlatform and allowing various services to be delivered
Support for MasterCard and Visa payment applications
Compatibility with ISO 14443 and Mifare technology
Support for Public Key Infrastructure cryptography

"The joint solution of Sagem Orga and Twinlinx is paving the way for the development and mass deployment of NFC applications, for example in transport, payment, access control and smart posters," says Didier Sérodon, Chief Technology Officer at Sagem Orga.

"We believe that the Sagem Orga Java Card contactless chip brings significant value to our MyMax NFC mobile sticker,” added Jacek Kowalski CEO of Twinlinx. "The flexibility of a Java Card and the compatibility with GlobalPlatform will open up the NFC market and new ways of offering services in a secure way, including the potential to issue 'white stickers', where applications can be added after issuance,” he added.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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Sagem Orga unveils Internet of Things solution

Sarah Clark — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:33:27 +0000

Sagem Orga is to present a software solution that enables communication between objects in the Internet of Things at Cartes 2009 next week.

The new system uses a new communication protocol called HIP-TAG and has been developed by Sagem Orga in conjunction with Telecom ParisTech, LIP6 and CNAM, all partners in the 'Things to things in the Internet of Things' (T2TIT) research project.

"T2TIT defines and standardizes an architecture enabling communication between an application server and many objects," Sagem Orga explains. "Its global architecture offers a secure way to have RFID tags authenticated by a server while maintaining full privacy. It uses cryptography to secure connections and guarantees anonymity and non-traceability."

"This software solution can be adapted to any application and is interoperable with any other application using this technology," says Didier Sérodon, Chief Technology Officer at Sagem Orga. "It can thus act as a global standard, and this will facilitate the deployment of the Internet of Things worldwide."

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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Orange and Barclaycard partner to launch NFC in the UK

Sarah Clark — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:44:14 +0000

All customers are expected to be able to use their phones to pay for everyday items within three years in "the biggest revolution in payments since plastic cards were introduced over 40 years ago."

REVOLUTION: Orange and Barclaycard's partnership will bring mobile payments to a customer base of 28m people — around half the UK's population

Orange and Barclaycard have formed a long-term strategic partnership to bring mobile payments to British consumers. The communication and banking giants, who have a combined UK customer base of 28 million people, will jointly develop solutions that "let customers use their mobile to both make payments and stay in better control of their finances".

Under the agreement, Orange and Barclaycard will launch co-branded Orange/Barclaycard products and services in a range of markets:

Customers will be able to use their mobiles to pay for goods and services at retailers using contactless technology, by simply waving their handset against a reader. Both companies will be looking to expand the partnership to include other contactless services within ticketing, transport and rewards. MasterCard will provide the payment capabilities for the transactions.
The partnership between Barclaycard and Orange will also enable market-leading mobile alerts, servicing capabilities and new banking applications, all of which will help customers keep in control of their finances while on the move.
Over the next few months customers will start to see the benefits of the partnership with a host of marketing opportunities currently being finalised by Orange and Barclaycard.

"Today you pay for things by cash or on your credit card," says Tom Alexander, CEO of Orange UK. "Tomorrow, you'll use your mobile to buy the things you want, whether that's on the high street or the internet."

"These are the services that will change the way we live and work for the better, and are evolving the way we interact with each other and the way that companies serve us," he added. "This new partnership with Barclaycard is at the forefront of that kind of thinking, and our customers will benefit from the leading-edge technology that both Orange and Barclaycard can provide."

Antony Jenkins, CEO of Barclaycard, said: "This partnership brings together a leader in communications and the UK's leading payments brand with the aim of revolutionising the way people pay. There has been a lot of talk about mobile payments and now it's going to become a reality for our customers because of Barclaycard's commitment to contactless technology and the coming together of two dynamic and imaginative organisations."

"Both Barclaycard and Orange have a heritage of innovation and can see how mobile communications and payments can come together for the benefit of our customers," he added. "I believe that all our UK customers will be able to use their mobile phones to pay for everyday items within three years."

Orange, Barclaycard and MasterCard all have a long history of involvement in testing mobile payments:

Barclaycard introduced contactless technology on credit cards in September 2007 with the launch of Barclaycard OnePulse, a three-in-one Oyster, credit and contactless card. All Barclaycard Platinum cards now include contactless technology and over 1.5 million contactless Barclaycards are now in issue.
Barclays Bank began rolling out contactless Visa debit cards across the UK at the beginning of March. Up to three million customers are expected to have been issued with contactless debit cards by the end of the year and the majority of Barclays debit card customers will have contactless cards by 2011.
Barclaycard took part in a six month trial of the O2 Wallet in London from November 2007 to May 2008 with Transport for London, Visa Europe, TranSys, Nokia and AEG.
Around 8,000 retailers already accept contactless payments including many outlets of Pret A Manger, Coffee Republic, EAT, Books etc, Krispy Kreme, Threshers and thousands of independent retailers, with more installing the technology every week.
Under the UK's contactless card system, consumers can use their cards to make transactions of £10 or less without entering a PIN.
In January, Orange revealed it had been working with smart card and SIM specialist Sagem Orga for more than a year to develop a custom SWP-enabled NFC SIM that is tailored to the mobile operator's specific requirements.
In November 2008, MasterCard launched Mobile MasterCard PayPass, a solution designed to make it easy for member banks to offer NFC services to their cardholders.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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Orange moves towards NFC deployment with new SIM

Sarah Clark — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:28:50 +0000

Orange has been working with smart card and SIM specialist Sagem Orga for more than a year to develop a custom SWP-enabled NFC SIM that is tailored to the mobile operator's requirements.

CUSTOM CUSTOMER: Sagem Orga worked with Orange to develop the new SIM, which supports payment, loyalty and transit applications

Sagem Orga has announced the availability of a Single Wire Protocol (SWP) enabled NFC SIM card, developed in cooperation with mobile network operator (MNO) Orange and customized for Orange's specific needs.

The new SIM is the result of a fifteen month project, says Sagem Orga, aimed at creating a solution that will enable Orange customers to make contactless transactions.

The SIM is designed to support payment, loyalty and transit applications, says the firm:

For transportation the solution is based on Calypso technology, which includes interoperability thanks to a Java applet, and can be administered completely through GlobalPlatform mechanisms such as Secure Channel Protocol. For payments a major global payment application has been successfully loaded and tested.
The card supports battery off mode, ensuring that the end user has full control of all offered services even if batteries are empty.
Service administration over the air enables flexibility, secured by standardized GlobalPlatform mechanisms.
As the applications reside on the UICC, the solution is portable: If the user exchanges the handset, the chip can easily be installed in the new device, making all services available again immediately. The UICC as a secured and reliable token keeps all valuable information, such as tickets or any other kind of end user credentials that can be stored, safely.

"Sagem Orga is proud to be selected as a partner supporting Orange in this high technology challenge," said Sagem Orga's François Blanchard.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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